Folding bed



0. H. BRUCE.

FOLDING BED. 4APPLICATION FILED'DEC. 18, 1916. RENEWED APR. 10I 1920. 1,340,212. Patented. May 18, 192 Y 2 SHEETS-SHEET 1 FIG. 1.

TTOR/VEY v C. H. BRUCE.

v EoLmNG BELL APPLICATION FILED. DEC. 18. i916., RENEWED APR. I0, 1920.

Afro/mfr CHRLES R. BRUCE, OF KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI.

FOLDING- BED.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 18, 1.920.

Application `1ed December 18, 1916, Serial No. 137,580. Renewed April 10, 1920. Serial No. 373,007.

To all whom t may concer/i Be it known that l, CHARLns li. BRUCE, a citizen of the United States, residing at Kansas Cityl` in the county of Jackson and State oflvlissouri, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Folding Beds, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

The invention relates to folding beds and seeks to provide a simple and efficient form of bed in which all excessive weight and complication of construction has been eliminated, so that the cost thereof will be reduced to nearly that of an ordinary bed, and so that it can easily be stored when folded, in the usual small closet of the small flat or a part-ment house.

Most folding` beds are both complicated, and heavy, and too large when folded for convenient storage room, the complication adding unnecessarily to the cost and requiring more or less skill to operate, while the weight causes them to be moved with dificulty when storing them in a closet or removing them therefrom.

The present invention seeks to provide an improved folding bed of simple and inexpensive construction, easily folded and unfolded. extremely light of weight and narrow in width so that it can easily be stored in the usual small closet and as easily removed therefrom.

lVith these and other objects in view the invention consists in the features of construction, combinations and arrangements of parts hereinafter set forth and more par ticularly pointed out in the appended claim, the accompanying' drawings illustrating' a folding bed constructed within the scope of the improvements.

ln the drawings:-

Figure 1 is a view in elevation of the improved folding bed folded, with a mattress in place thereon.

Fig. 2 is a view in elevation of the bed unfolded for use, and the mattress in relative position thereon.

Fig. 3 is a plan view of the bed unfolded for use and of the mattress, the latter being broken away to show the construction of the bed.

Fig. l is a view in end elevation of the bed and mattress. j

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary enlarged view of the head piece of the bed broken open to show the filling with which it is weighted.

Fig. (i is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view taken on line 2-2 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 'T is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view taken on line 4.--4 of Fig. 41.

The head piece l() is of usual construction excepting` that it is. filled with sand or weighty material l1 as shown in Fig. 5, to a depth that will prevent it from tilting or leaning as the bed is unfolded.

The intermediate posts 12 arc preferably ot' cylindrical shape and rigid therewith are the connections 13 from which the angle shaped bars le connect to the duplicate connections 13 rigid with the head piece 10, the head piece and the intermediate posts being supplied with the usual casters 15.

Mounted on the angle shaped bars 14 and rigidly secured thereto are the bearing brackets 1G, in which is journaled the pivot shaft 1T, the latter being rigidly secured to the side rails 1S of the lied.

The side rails are provided at both ends thereof with the duplicate arms 19 which are rigid with the rails and project upwardly, f

the arms adjacent the head piece 10 being connected by the angle shaped bar 20, while the arms on the opposite or foot end of the rails are connected by the angle shaped bar 21.

To the angle shaped bars 20 and 21 are connected in the usual manner the common and well known forni of springs 22, upon which rests the usual mattress 23, the foot piece 24: being rigidly secured to the angle shaped bar 21 by the bolts 25, the foot piece serving` as an ornament and giving the bed a finished appearance.

Secured to the angle shaped bar 21 by the rivets 26 are pairs of jaws 27, between which are slidably pivoted the legs 28 practically underneath the foot piece 24, the legs being provided with the V-shaped notches 29, so that the bar 21 will rest centrally on the legs, the slots 30 being provided in the legs so that when the foot piece 24 is lifted the legs will fall by gravity from the bar 21 and release the same from the notches and allow the legs to automatically fold as shown in Fig. 1 as the bed is folded to the position shown in the latter mentioned ligure.

To the angle shaped bar 20 is secured the weight 31 which is sufficiently heavy to almost balance all that part of the bed which overhangs the opposite side of the pivot shaft 17, this weight assisting in the folding of the bed and retarding the unfolding thereof so that the foot piece will not fall when the bed is being unfolded, the weight also forming an end rest for the mattress 23.

Secured to the angle shaped bar 2O by the rivets 32 is the spring latch 33, the tension of which is such that that it Will assume the position shown in Fig. 6 automatically when the bed is lowered, and lock the bed in lowered position, the cord 34 being attached thereto at 35 and passing partly around the pulley 36 and then to the angle shaped bar 21,7the cord being provided with the ring 37 for the purpose of a hand hold for pulling the cord and drawing the spring latch to the position of the dotted lines of Fig. 6 and releasing the bed so that it can be folded when it is desired to fold it. The pulley 36 is mounted in the bifurcated jaw 38 and secured to the angle shaped bar 2O by the rivet 39.

Secured to the end adjacent the head piece 10 of one of the side rails 18 as shown is the spring connection 40, while secured to the adjacent intermediate post 12 is the spring connection 41, the spring connections being connected by the series of short expansion coil springs 4t2 hooked or linked together at 13, as shown, the spring being for the purpose of resisting the lowering of the foot piece 2&1 when unfolding the bed, and when the foot piece is nearing the lowered position as shown in l? i g. 2, it being understood that owing to the foot piece Zei being farther from the pivot shaft 17 than the weight 31, the lower the foot piece the greater will be the tendency thereof to fall, the springs offering more resistance to the falling of the foot piece as the tendency thereof to fall increases, thereby practically balancing the folding parts of bed at all times.

The springs 42 are formed in short sections and hooked or linked together so that they will fold up when the bed is folded as shown in Fig'. 1, the springs in this view being shown in folded position, whereas if the short springs were replaced by one spring of the combined length of the short section, the long spring would project for a considerable distance from the bed when it is folded as in F ig. 1.

The hook rod 44 is pivoted to the head piece 10 at -l and provided with the hook end 46 to engage the pin et? on the adjacent side rail 18 and hold the bed in folded position so that the bed can be easily moved about when folded for the purpose of storing it in a closet and withdrawing it therefrom.

r1`he particular advantages of the improved folding bed are extreme light weight, simplicity and inexpensiveness, each of which is very desirable in crowded apartments.

that l claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

ln a folding bed, a head piece, intermediate posts, bars connecting said head piece and said intermediate posts, a spring frame pivoted to said bars, a foot piece on said spring frame, legs supporting said foot piece and the respective end of said spring frame, a transverse member forming the end of said spring frame adjacent said head piece, a flat spring rigidly securedto said transverse member and extending downward and outward therefrom so that the end thereof will automatically latch above one of said bars when said bed is lowered and hold said bed rigidly lowered, a .pulley attached to said transverse member and a cord attached to said spring near the lower end thereof and leading over said pulley and to said foot piece for the purpose of unlatching said spring so that the bed can be folded.

CHARLES R. BRUCE. 

